The Secret
by WesternRose
Summary: Even if Mr. Stark doesn't believe in magic, because it's just a matter of science, obviously, that doesn't mean Peter can't believe in it.


Peter thought the suggestion was strange. So, so strange. It's even odder than the thought of Newton's Laws failing! Like apples falling only to float up, a soccer ball kicked into someone's face with zero impact. It's like saying that two plus two is sixty-five, there has never been an idea so outrageous, so ridiculously impossible…!

What if, just, what if, Peter was meant for more? What if, Peter could be more than plain old Peter Parker, more than Spider-Man? What if Peter was magic? Not magic like Dr. Strange, but magic even more strange?

People would probably ask things along the lines of, 'do you mean fairy magic? Or wizards with wands? Or Alchemy?' They'd probably ask if he meant the magic of seduction, and that may or may not have made his face flush a lovely pink.

But no. Peter doesn't think anyone could understand this type of magic. It's not something you can touch as first; there are no fireworks, there are no crazy hand gestures that are hard to imitate—not that he's tried to mimic any crazy awesome hand movements, of course. There are no awe-inspired fans watching as you do the illogical: the impossible. It's a kind of magic where it's just you — no one else. No friend or foe is wishing you well or worrisome things. It's just you.

Imagine it; feeling what does not yet exist, seeing with the eye that lies beyond your skull, hearing the vibrations that sing in the void of time, Being there when there is nowhere? Peter thinks that if he listened to what is not yet understood, he would listen to Mr. Stark, recognizing just how proud he was of Peter. 'Peter, you are the best superhero alive. Even better than Cap, but don't tell him I said that. Scratch that. Tell him, his face would be hilarious.'

What if Peter had that magic? What if he does? He could have the world wrapped in his web, and there would be no way out. Anyone and everyone would be walking in and out and all around his intangible strings. They would stretch across the ground, shrouding the earth in his fated cocoon. Aunt May would probably give him a couple of looks, but she wouldn't doubt his credibility. After all, magic is everywhere these days. But that's the thing, if magic is becoming so familiar, will it still be magical? The feeling of seeing the magic in the streets or on the battlefield will begin to feel like science. Peter loves science with a passion, but magic, the magic he has found, is a fresh breath of air in a sea of smug and smog.

Ned and Peter had been eyeing up a limited edition Lego set online for a while. It cost a hundred dollar or so, meaning Peter and Ned had to start saving up for it. Peter did all he could to get his share of the money, but thanks to his magic, he didn't need to. On the second week of saving, a package arrived at his door. He asked Aunt May if she'd ordered anything recently, which she replied with a no. Peter opened the box, and to his disbelief, there it was. The limited-edition, one hundred and twenty dollars, and ninety-nine cent Lego set. He was shocked. He went around asking all the neighbors if they'd bought anything like it and they all had said no. Maybe someone bought it and sent it to the wrong address? After a week of searching for the owner with no success, Peter gave in and decided to keep it.

Weeks after the Lego incident, there were no significant events that would shock a crowd; but, little things were happening. Little, odd, almost invisible things that nobody would notice unless they were looking for them were occurring left and right. He was looking at some of Doctor Banner's essays on radiation, and then when he went to the library the next day, there were Hulk bookmarks. There was no Thor or Iron-Man themed bookmarks as usual. Just Hulk bookmarks. Now, it might sound like nothing, but when something like this happens so many time you lose track, it's not just 'nothing' anymore. It's almost like magic: Peter's magic. Or at least, he hopes it's his magic.

A couple of days after the bookmark, which Peter spent studying for a test until he fell asleep at the desk in his room every night, something strange happened. During English, his Science teacher entered the classroom and asked for Peter. Of course, Peter was internally having a crisis. Did he not clean up after his last lab? Did one of his assignments go missing? Did he get a horrible grade and the teacher is here to scold him for his mistakes? The list of worries went on until the teaching put a hand on his shoulder, looked him right in the eyes, and said, "Congratulations Peter. Your test results were some of the highest I've seen on this topic in a long time. I hope you don't mind, but I called one of my college friends who runs a business on the test's topic. I sent him a copy of your responses, and he said he'd liked to offer you a two-month apprenticeship. I can give you the details later when you're in class if you're interested." That occurrence wasn't the last of his magically created opportunities.

Peter is a lot of things. He's the apprentice of Mr. Stark, he's Spider-man, he's Peter Parker, and he's an intellectual. But Peter is only a kid in the eyes of the world—and much to his lament, in the eyes of Mr. Stark, too—but with this magic, he can become something else: a scientist, a billionaire, anything he desired to be.

Even if Mr. Stark doesn't believe in magic, because it's science, obviously, that doesn't mean Peter can't believe in it. From now on, Peter is going to be magic. And to be safe, he is going to keep his magic a secret with him, his heart, and the sacred place where nothing and everything exists.


End file.
